Announcing the 2016 Listen/Space Commissions and Residency!

Announcing the 2016 L/S Commissions and Residency!  Everyone wanted to come back and do it again this summer!  We are supremely interested in watching a body of work evolve, so many composers and performers are the same folks, with some wonderful additions including composers Robert Jędrzejewski, Laura Steenberge and composer/performers Stephanie Richards, Eric KM Clark, Andrew Munsey, Kevin Farrell and Nathan Herrera.

Composers André Cormier, Robert Jędrzejewski, Jonathan Marmor, Devin Maxwell, Stephanie Richards, Eric KM Clark, Andrew Munsey, Kevin Farrell and Nathan Herrera, will be in residence with us!!

This year we have 13 new pieces, including several pieces for an improvising ensemble.  Our residency will take place June 27- July 4, 2016.  Our house concert on July 2 will included composed experimental pieces for smaller ensembles and composed improvisations by composer/performers in the group.

Composers 2016:  G. Douglas Barrett (Brooklyn, NY), Eric KM Clark (Los Angeles, CA), André Cormier (Moncton, Canada), Kevin Farrell (NYC, NY), Nathan Herrera (Santa Barbara, CA), Travis Just (Brooklyn, NY), Robert Jędrzejewski (Poland), Jonathan Marmor (Cambridge, MA), Devin Maxwell (Park City, UT), Andrew Munsey (San Diego, CA), Stephanie Richards (San Diego, CA), Zack Scott (Minneapolis, MN), Laura Steenberge (San Fransisco, CA), and Quentin Tolimieri (Brooklyn, NY).

Ensemble 2016:

Christine Tavolacci, flute

Kristin Olson, oboe

Katie Porter, clarinet

Nathan Herrera, alto sax

Stephanie Richards, trumpet

Eric KM Clark, violin

Robin Streb, viola

Robert Jędrzejewski, cello

Kevin Farrell, bass

Gavin Ryan, vibes

Andrew Munsey, drumset and percussion

Jonathan Marmor, auxiliary percussion

Devin Maxwell, conductor

Live 2015 House Concert

 

Pictures from 2015 Commissions and Residency

HOUSE CONCERT JUNE 26 7PM

So, if you happen to be anywhere near Tollgate Canyon in Utah, or are intrigued enough to take a roadtrip out on I-80, we will be premiering all of the L/S Commissions at our cabin Friday, June 26, 7PM.  AND there will be a BBQ afterwards.

Here is the invite:  https://www.paperlesspost.com/events/12827382-15f393cc/event_page

THE LISTEN/SPACE COMMISSIONS:
EXTREMELY NEW EXPERIMENTAL CHAMBER MUSIC IN AN IDYLLIC SETTING

HOUSE CONCERT

Featuring premiers of new experimental music by
G. Douglas Barrett (Brooklyn, NY)/André Cormier (Moncton, NB)/ Travis Just (Brooklyn, NY)/ Jonathan Marmor (Cambridge, MA)/ Devin Maxwell (Wanship, UT)/ Quentin Tolimieri (Brooklyn, NY)

Played by
Christine Tavolacci, flute (Los Angeles)/ Kristin Olson, oboe (NYC)/ Katie Porter, bass clarinet (UT)/ Nathan Herrera, alto saxophone (NYC)/ Stephanie Richards, trumpet (NYC/San Diego), Eric KM Clark, violin (Los Angeles), Kevin Farrell, bass (NYC), Gavin Ryan, vibraphone (UT), Andrew Munsey, percussion (NYC)

FRIDAY JUNE 26, 2015
7PM
2903 S FOREST MEADOW ROAD
TOLLGATE CANYON, UTAH
84017

Musicians will be in the garage. Audience will be outside. Please BYOB and bring camping chairs, blankets, sweaters, pot-luck, etc, make yourselves comfy.
Music starts at 7PM
BBQ at 8PM

About the Listen/Space Commissions:

This year we commissioned 6 new experimental chamber music pieces for 9 performers. These works represent our long-time collaborators and the best of the music we presented in our concert venue, Listen/Space, in Brooklyn. Over the week of June 22-29, 2015 an all-star ensemble is gathering in our cabin to rehearse and record these new pieces. This House Concert will be our celebratory run-through before we head into the recording studio. More about the project: https://listenspacemusic.wordpress.com/

Please join us!

6 out of 6! Travis Just’s KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Our last commission arrived!  And it’s like icing on the cake.  KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN from Travis Just for flute, oboe, alto sax, bass clarinet, trumpet, violin, electric bass and drums.  My bass clarinet part is totally big and raucous, the trumpet and sax are improvising a bit and there’s a drumset.  YES>  I can really tell that Travis wrote this for this specific group of players.  We are going to do what we do best in this piece.

I’ve played and listened to Travis’ music for a long time, and this piece is so exciting to me.   I’m a big fan.  We also had a lot of fun hosting Object Collection in various forms at Listen/Space.

Cheers from the mountain!  Can’t wait for everyone to get here.

kp

More about Travis Just:  http://www.objectcollection.us/about/about-us/

Travis’ music as Object Collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvmDRK5seU

Our next commission: Devin Maxwell’s “Ogden, UT”

Devin says he’s going to write pieces about places until we find a place in the world that is right for us.  This one’s called Ogden, UT, where he watched a great baseball game with the kids.

I think the second movement is going to sound like King Crimson.  Super loud non-stop bass clarinet and alto saxophone tremolos!

More about Devin here:  www.devinmaxwell.net

A piece we’ve been listening to a lot lately in our cabin now that the kids can work the record player: Chord Toss 2 http://devinmaxwell.net/chord-toss-2/

 

Jonathan Marmor’s “Short Stories” for the Listen/Space Commissions

This score is epic!  I am thrilled to get more totally brand new ideas about chamber music for our commissions!  Actually, I’m not sure if Jonathan’s ideas are very new or very old, based in music traditions I don’t fully understand.  I can’t wait to talk to him some more about this piece.  Jonathan presented some beautiful pieces at L/S in Brooklyn and we spent many days in rehearsals there for Clarinet & Synthesizers and Cattle in the Woods and several other crazy pieces.

Jonathan’s Short Stories is fifteen intense 25-80 second movements.  He writes “the instructions and rhythm notation conventions used are intended to force us to agree on a unique performance practice.”

Almost every note is ornamented in some way, with many lines in unison throughout the ensemble.  Short Stories, for flute, oboe, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, violin, bass and vibraphone, is going to test our limits as an ensemble and take us to some seriously new places.

More about Jonathan here:  http://jonathanmarmor.com/

Animal Play performed by ensemble Mimitabu